Thanks Mike

Mike Seavy made an indelible mark on my life.

For as long as I knew the guy, he always seemed to have a smile on his face. Always. Whether we were at soccer practice, in Driver’s Ed or getting yelled at for being too loud in class, he found the joy in every endeavor.

He always was looking for ways to laugh; be it dressing up as a gorilla and scaling a fence to his friends sitting in a hot tub, running over to ask if I met my dad’s friend with the funny name, Mr. Woody, or pissing off a goose so much that it chased after him — he seemingly always found a way to smile and laugh.

I miss being a part of those hilarious stories.

Mike was the guy who helped me find the positive in situations and have confidence in myself. He was the first guy who could get me to laugh after we lost a game and the first to remind me a bad grade wasn’t the end of the world.

I have linked joy and happiness with Mike to the point that when my career coach said I needed to have more fun, I immediately thought of Mike. And when I start lacking confidence (like in posting this) or feel myself turning too negative — I ask myself what Mike say to me right now.

I miss those reminders.

Mike was the guy I could go months without seeing — and then talk about everything with when we got together again. I used to think this meant we weren’t close friends, the fact we could go months at a time without saying a word to one another. But I have come to recognize how close it meant we were — the fact that we didn’t speak for months and still felt comfortable enough to talk about any and everything going on in our lives. We didn’t need weekly check-ins because we knew at some point we would catch all the way up.

I miss those conversations.

Unfortunately, Mike was taken from us far too early in life, and while this time of the year always tends to conjure up more memories, I find myself missing that smile a little more this past year.

Its always been too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. Work, responsibilities, chasing new dreams.

Far too often, I find myself missing out on enjoying life by getting stuck in it. Thinking about what chores I need to do, instead of just enjoying lunch with my brother. Thinking about what time we need to leave to avoid traffic, instead of enjoying tubing on the mountain with my nieces and nephew. Worried about what is going on at work, instead of enjoying the sun, views and friends in Hawaii.

And with Covid I find myself stuck in a routine I don’t really enjoy but can’t seem to find my way out of. At home bored and being negative but not wanting to go out either. Gym, work from home, read a little, work some more, go to bed — rinse and repeat. I find myself lost in my own head.

I find myself wishing my friend was here to talk to. To flash that smile and remind me to have fun and believe in myself. To tell me stories about all the cool and fun things he has been doing. To give me a call out-of-the-blue and force me out of my rut by going do something fun — because he always had the ability to do that.

But I also wish he was here because I think the world could use a little more of that joy and happiness. The world could use more people with a carefree attitude who just want to have fun. The world could use a few more people who find the good in all. The world could use a little less judgment and a little more inclusion.

The world could use Mike.

Thanks for everything you taught me Mike — I am going to try and do a better job of emulating what you shared.

I hope the world will too — I just wish you were here to show us the way.